


snippets of another life

by impulserun



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Crossover, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-26 11:21:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/649993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impulserun/pseuds/impulserun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five drabbles from the perspectives of five different trainers as their lives unfold and intersect. (Pokemon/Harry Potter crossover)</p>
            </blockquote>





	snippets of another life

Sirius becomes a trainer because it’s everything he’s ever dreamed of, because he can only stomach so much of his family’s noble aristocratic crap before he snaps. Let Regulus be the heir, he thinks; he wants nothing to do with it.

The week before he turns eleven, he steals a shitload of Pokeballs from his father’s office and runs away with Cerberus, his Houndour, and all of his savings. He runs away and doesn’t look back.

He trains because it’s what he’s meant for - to feel the grass beneath his feet, the sun on his back, the wind in his hair. He trains because he wants to be stronger, because he needs to fend for himself, because he’s not the little Black heir on display any more. That’s Regulus’ job now.

He sticks to Dark types because they understand each other. He understands their need for solidarity, and also their need for affection, because that’s how he is. They understand that, disowned or not, Sirius is a Black, and Blacks walk with their heads held high. Blacks don’t show weakness, even in the face of death; a rule he has broken only once, when he collapsed dying from starvation in Remus’ front yard and the other boy offered him his hand, before he discards the Black philosophy for good.

He took Remus’ hand that day, and he never looked back.

*

Remus becomes a trainer because he wants to protect his family. When he was younger, maybe five or six, a bad man came and threatened his daddy with his Mightyena. Remus and his Riolu tried to stop him, they really did, but Mightyena knocked out Riolu with a swipe of his paw, and then his world became hell and fire and pain.

The bad man went to jail. But Remus still bears the scars.

He trains because he doesn’t trust strangers any more. He doesn’t know when another thug will come and threaten his parents, when someone else will disrupt their idyllic life. He doesn’t know which of his friends might be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a traitor in disguise. So he trains and trains, until he’s certain he’s strong enough to deter any would-be attackers. 

He chose Fighting types because they’re stronger than Dark types; because he knows he can count on them to keep trying, to keep standing up no matter how many times they’re knocked down. (The only exception to this rule is his Umbreon, a gift from Sirius, nicknamed Moony - also by Sirius - who’s really more of a pet than anything else.)

He chooses them because he can trust them, and heaven knows he needs that. He has been wary of strangers ever since the incident. The one exception to that is Sirius, who stumbled into town half-unconscious from hunger. He was young - only the same age as Remus, in fact - and something about his open features told Remus he was safe. 

He offered Sirius a helping hand. He hasn’t regretted it yet.

*

James becomes a trainer to look for his lost cousin, Sirius. He was his best friend growing up; they shared everything, from dreams to pet peeves and aspirations. So when Sirius disappears just before his birthday, James kisses his parents goodbye and sets off on his own journey just a month after. His starter is a Rufflet, the son of his father’s Braviary. He promises to return with Sirius, or not at all.

Two months in, he begins to understand why Sirius ran away. The allure of travelling - of freedom - is too great to resist.

Six months in, he’s all but given up hope of ever finding his cousin. But he’s amassed a team - a strong team - and earned several badges, and made a bit of a name for himself. So maybe he can’t find Sirius (because that tosser is being all sneaky and low-key and generally not being himself) - no matter. He’ll just make it easier for the prodigal son to find him.

He falls in love with his Flying types, because they’re there for him. When Belen the Rufflet finally evolves, he cries tears of joy. When Belen - now a Braviary - takes him for their first flight he’s exhilarated. 

When he (finally) gets hold of Sirius, he’ll have that wanker home (with the Potters, not the Blacks) in the blink of an eye, he thinks.

This is how James chances upon his cousin: on his way out of the eighth gym, he hears suspicious noises coming from the dimly-lit alley behind the building. He goes to check that no one’s getting mugged or anything and is rewarded for his efforts with the sight of Sirius snogging the living daylights out of a brunette(who is most definitely a guy, and is most definitely moaning his cousin’s name).

In retrospect, he thinks he should have seen it coming.

*

Peter becomes a trainer because it seems like fun. His brother Paul was one for a few years, and he seemed to have had a good time. Plus, it means that he can be self-sufficient, and his family is going through hard times. He leaves home on his eleventh birthday with a Rattata, a Lillipup and a mystery Egg, the last birthday present from his grandparents running the Daycare.

His Egg turns out to be a Togepi; these three starters start him on the path to his mono-Normal type party. People tend to underestimate him when they see his team; that has always been his strategy, and it always will be.

He learns a lot from his team, too; like how to forage for beries and edible greens when the Centre is nowhere in sight. How to look for weak spots, where to seek refuge and shelter. He emerges from the experience a better person, or so he likes to think.

For a time, Peter worries that he’ll never escape his brother’s shadow. It’s everywhere he goes; Paul Pettigrew conquered the gyms before he did. Paul Pettigrew had an outstanding winning streak. Paul did this. Paul did that. Famous Paul Pettigrew and his team of all-rounders.

Then, suddenly, he’s been invited to take part in the Elite League Championship Tournament, and suddenly he’s ranked among the Top 5, the five trainers who will go on to form the next Elite 4 and their Champion. Paul never made it this far; he never so much as saw an invitation. He can hardly believe his luck.

After the tournament ends, after their Champion has been crowned, the five trainers are pulled aside to begin their new life. Peter looks at his fellow elites - friends, now, he hopes - and smiles.

*

Lily becomes a trainer because Sev thinks she’d make a good one. Surprisingly enough, she does. Her sister scoffs when she and Sev approach the regional professor for Pokemon, but when she meets her Snivy for the first time it’s the best feeling in the whole world. Sev is given a Bulbasaur, because neither child wants an advantage over the other. They wait for the end of January - for Lily’s birthday - and then they set off together, leaving their hometown behind.

They part ways eventually, though; Severus is taken in by Slughorn as an apprentice at the fifth gym, and Lily pushes on alone.

She rises quickly through the ranks with her team of Grass types. (A weak, girly team for a weak, girly trainer, some scoff, but she quickly proves them wrong.) She wonders what Petunia thinks of her now.

Lily is strong; so strong, in fact, that she’s invited to take place in the Championship, a competition tailored to sieve out the next Champion, the next Elite 4. As she fights, she reflects on her journey thus far; on why she chose the team that she did (there was a bond between her and each member of her team that she just couldn’t deny), on what Sev is thinking now as she watches the tournament (she hopes he wants her to win), on her sister (because Petunia will always be her greatest what if).

Her final opponent is a cocky boy with black windswept hair and dancing hazel eyes. His name is James. (She thinks she might hate him, and can’t fathom why her heart flutters every time he looks her way.) 

He uses Flying types, and Lily is so sure that she’s going to lose, but she tries her best anyway, exploiting every weakness she can find with all the strength she can muster - and suddenly it’s over, she’s won, and they’re crowning her Champion. She won. She’s Champion.

James approaches her after the battle and shakes her hand. Several years later, she decides she’s in love. 


End file.
